Sunday, February 17, 2008

Comics this week

Countdown to Final Crisis 11- Did I miss something…again? After months of reading how a future virus is slowly killing Karate Kid, how he is slowly losing the fight to the virus (he couldn’t walk just 2 issues ago), this issue show the Kid up and about killing OMACs left, right and centre. What did I miss? Please tell me!

Nova Annual #1- I'm not a big fan of annuals and this annual is a prefect reason why. Most annuals do one of two things. They are either a separate story with little continuation from the regular series or they are a flashback telling new readers about the character. I’ll give credit where it’s due; the Nova annual tried to do both. Unfortunately it fails to click. The writers wove a tale that tried to explore both Nova's origin and possible future in a dreamlike state that gives them room in the future to change everything. The origin is good as most new readers would not know much of Nova’s origins, but I dislike how they modified it. It has a nice touch that helps to differentiate the Nova Corps from DC's more famous GL Corps, but you don’t change a character’s origins. Especially a character’s with a brand new series! Skip this and keep to the regular series; it’s better.

Astro City: Beautie- I have collected every Astro City comic Kurt Busiek has put out and this issue showcase why. Busiek has a love for these Astro City’s characters as he crafted a moving tale on a throwaway character like Beautie. A life-size robot doll? But it work as Busiek turned the issue into a journey where a robot who is trying to find her origins and ultimately, her place in the world. After the slightly disappointing ‘Dark Age’ series, this is a welcome back to form for fans of Astro City.